2017 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE BILL NO. 17
BY SENATORS GATTI, BISHOP AND GARY SMITH
Prefiled pursuant to Article III, Section 2(A)(4)(b)(i) of the Constitution of Louisiana.
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 32:402.1(A)(1)(a) and (2)(b), 407(A)(2)(a), and 408(A)(1),
3 relative to driver education; to provide for driver education to include instruction
4 relative to appropriate driver conduct when stopped by a law enforcement officer;
5 and to provide for related matters.
6 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
7 Section 1. R.S. 32:402.1(A)(1)(a) and (2)(b), 407(A)(2)(a), and 408(A)(1) are hereby
8 amended and reenacted to read as follows:
9 §402.1. Driver education; required
10 A. No application for a license for the operation of a motor vehicle shall be
11 received from any person making application for the first time unless there is also
12 submitted with the application, on a form approved by the secretary of the
13 Department of Public Safety and Corrections, public safety services, written
14 evidence of the successful completion by the applicant of one of the following:
15 (1)(a) A "driver education course" for any person under the age of eighteen,
16 which shall consist of not less than eight hours of actual driving instruction and thirty
17 hours of classroom instruction. A person shall not be allowed to receive more than
18 four hours of actual driving instruction on any single calendar day. The Department
19 of Public Safety and Corrections, public safety services, shall establish rules and
20 regulations to administer and define the requirements of the course. The rules and
21 regulations established by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, public
22 safety services, shall provide for instruction relative to trailer safety and, to the
23 economic effects of littering, and to appropriate driver conduct when stopped by
24 a law enforcement officer. Oversight review of these rules shall be conducted by
25 the House and Senate committees on transportation, highways and public works in
ACT No. 286
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1 accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act.
2 * * *
3 (2) A "prelicensing training course" from any person eighteen years or older
4 if a driver education course is not completed. The prelicensing training course shall
5 consist of a minimum of six hours of classroom instruction and a minimum of eight
6 hours of actual driving instruction. A person shall not be allowed to receive more
7 than four hours of actual driving instruction on any single calendar day. The
8 Department of Public Safety and Corrections, public safety services, shall establish
9 rules and regulations to administer and define the requirements of the course.
10 Oversight review of these rules shall be conducted by the House and Senate
11 committees on transportation, highways and public works in accordance with the
12 Administrative Procedure Act. The rules shall provide for:
13 * * *
14 (b) Course content and presentation, including content relative to trailer
15 safety and, to the economic effects of littering, and to appropriate driver conduct
16 when stopped by a law enforcement officer.
17 * * *
18 §407. Application of minors; revocation; applications of persons less than
19 twenty-one years of age
20 A.(1) * * *
21 (2)(a) Upon completion of a driver's education course approved by the
22 Department of Public Safety and Corrections, public safety services, and upon
23 passing a visual examination and a road knowledge test, including rules of the road,
24 signs, and signals, sharing the road with motorcycles and tractor/trailer trucks,
25 knowledge of distracted driving issues, knowledge of trailer safety, knowledge of
26 appropriate driver conduct when stopped by a law enforcement officer, and not
27 less than two questions relative to railroad and highway grade railroad safety, an
28 applicant at least fifteen years of age, but less than seventeen years of age, applying
29 for the first time may be issued a Class "E" learner's license. The license may be
30 issued for a four-year period at the same fee as a Class "E" driver's license and must
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1 be maintained for at least one hundred eighty days, unless prior to such time the
2 driver reaches seventeen years of age, prior to being converted to a Class "E"
3 intermediate driver's license. The Class "E" learner's license shall authorize the
4 holder to drive while being accompanied by a licensed parent, guardian, adult at least
5 age twenty-one or older, or licensed sibling at least age eighteen or older.
6 * * *
7 §408. Examination of applicants required; classes of licenses
8 A.(1) Except as otherwise provided, every applicant must pass a written
9 knowledge and skills test for a motor vehicle representative of the type of motor
10 vehicle he operates or expects to operate, or provide evidence on a form approved
11 by the department that he has successfully passed the written knowledge test and a
12 driving or skills test administered by an authorized third party. In addition to the
13 specialized knowledge and skills tests, each such examination shall include: a test
14 of the applicant's eyesight; his ability to understand highway signs regulating,
15 warning, and directing traffic; his knowledge of railroad and highway grade crossing
16 safety; his knowledge of sharing the road with motorcycles and tractor/trailer trucks;
17 his knowledge of the economic effects of littering; his knowledge of distracted
18 driving issues; his knowledge of trailer safety; his knowledge of appropriate driver
19 conduct when stopped by a law enforcement officer; and his knowledge of all
20 relevant traffic regulations.
21 * * *
22 Section 2. This Act shall become effective on January 1, 2018.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
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